co+labo radović   bonenkai 忘年会, end of the year party completes a very successful 2O16   

The party, which was attended by almost all current co+labo students and some of our distinguished alumni and associates, also provided us with good opportunity to welcome new members: Alice Covatta (post-Doctoral Fellow from Venice), Ana Medina (exchange PhD student from UP Madrid+Goldsminty, London) and six newly selected undergraduate students - Ishii-san, Kinoshita-san, Samejima-san, Kato-san, Motoyama-san and Wang Yijia, who have, following the bonenkai tradition, prepared delicious nabe for all of us.

Get a glimpse into the compressed co+labo 2016 experience below, just under co+labo Christmas card, made in Milano by Politecnico/co+labo exchange+double degree students, Aki Suzuki, Ayumu Magome, Nicolò Panzeri and Enrico Sterle

co+labo radović      co+labo + partners participate at the 17th Keio Techno Mall exhibition      

On 16 December at Tokyo International Forum Keio University held its 17th annual exhibition - Keio Techno Mall. 
co+labo radović took part in this exhibition by presenting the results and potential of our investigations into the quality of space and spatial experiences across scales, advanced through collaboration with Keio Mitsukura Laboratory + Yakoh Laboratory + Simone Garagnani from University of Bologna + Gehl/Copenhagen + ... + ... + ... 
co+labo exhibition stand included our urban research cupboard, with a number of examples of the ways in which we conduct investigations of the urban and our publications, enriched by the latest in EEG technology developed by Mitsukura Lab, eye-tracking equipment advanced in Yakoh Laboratory and experiments in multi scale visualisation explored by Professor Garagnani. The discussions pointed at the promising synthesis of these efforts.

The exhibition was attended by interested academic and corporate partners of Keio University and co+labo. Our special visitors included Kengo Kuma,  representatives of Urban Renaissance Agency and potential future partners.

co+laboradović co+labo's Sotaro Miyatake to speak@Sotonoba public space-public life panel  

After his successful internship at Gehl's office in Copenhagen and involvement in regular co+labo urban research and design activities in Tokyo and abroad, Sotaro Miyatake, co+labo's final year Master student, was invited to speak at Sotonoba, a web-media event which specialises in discussions about the quality of public space. Sotonoba brings together urban planners, academics, writers, street performers and others interested in thinking and making better cities. 
This invitation is a great recognition of Miyatake's and broader co+labo efforts to, using immense energies and potential of urban life of Tokyo and the momentum of the forthcoming Olympic Games, help advance the quality of public life and public space in this city. 
The Sotonoba event will be held on Friday, 9 December, from 19.00, at Bird discussion space in Daikanyama.

co+labo radović  co+labo fieldwork with Gehl's, Urban Renaissance and Open_A in Kanda - 3  

After a week of intensive work, urban research workshop, which was coordinated by Urban Renaissance Agency and directed by Gehl's David Sim in Kanda precinct of Tokyo, is over. co+labo students took part in the fieldwork, discussed and helped develop ideas for better future of this part of Tokyo, contributing to a real-life project and gaining valuable knowledge and experience. 

co+labo pavilion, our urban research cupboard, was carefully packed up and returned to Keio Yagami Campus, to get prepared for the next outing. which is scheduled for December.

co+laboradović  Keio's Japanese Pavilion/Tea House - a Sleeping Beauty at the Island of Vis   

Boško Budisavljević, founding President of the Anatomy of Islands organisation e-mailed us a series of photos showing calm beauty of the dormant Japanese Tea House. The Pavilion was designed and built by Keio's Kobayashi Lab and co+laboradović, with generous support of Politecnico di Milano's ABC programme, University of Ljubljana, local authorities and various stakeholders from the beautiful, 2,500 thousand years old town of Vis.

The Pavilion was constructed during the final, fifth Anatomy of Islands Symposium and Workshop in September 2016, as Keio's thank you for five years of hospitality and as a token of hope for the proposed Smart Island Communities project.  
The shutters of the Tea House are temporarily closed, protecting its fragile openings and interior. It waits for better weather and more activities directed towards better thinking, making and living of the island of Vis. In 2016, the Anatomy Workshop used moving images to present some fresh ideas about such, different, more sustainable and better future.

Click here to can join the Anatomy cinema audience and watch the movies.

co+laboradović  co+labo fieldwork with Gehl's, Urban Renaissance and Open_A in Kanda - 2 

And, on Friday 25.11. nice weather was back and co+labo pavilion, our popular urban research"cupboard", was rolled out to the streets of Kanda, and students got involved in further data collection by engaging the locals and the passers-by ... 

co+laboradović  co+labo fieldwork with Gehl's, Urban Renaissance and Open_A in Kanda - 1 

This week co+labo joined our strategic partner's Gehl from Copenhagen, in an urban research workshop in Kanda, Tokyo. As on a number of occasions before, co+labo students are involved in data collection and urban design exercises headed by our associate and Gehl's Creative Director David Sim, which aim to both improve the  quality of open spaces in that part of Tokyo and help raise general awareness about the importance of public space in urban life. This workshop is hosted and organised by Urban Renaissance Agency, and conducted in collaboration with Open-A Ltd. This is just an opening notice. After the initial two days and an interruption by Danish weather (snow in Tokyo on 24 November!), on Friday 25 November co+labo mobile research pavilion, our urban cupboard gets out to the streets of Kanda, to help David and the team achieve Gehl quality work - and even more than that. The updates will be posted soon.

P.S. co+labo's Associate Davisi Boontharm edited the Thai version of Jan Gehl's seminal book Cities for People, the publication of which coincided with his 80th birthday.

 幸せな誕生日 Jan!!

co+laboradović     Madrid>Tokyo architecture exhibition@Around the Corner Grain Building     

The Friday evening rain has not affected the opening of the Madrid>Tokyo exhibition of young Spanish architects (left), at Around the Corner Grain building, designed by co+labo's Sano Satoshi and his Eureka group. That building was conceptualised as space which would support the emergence of spontaneous activities and help generate richer streetlife in one of the Tokyo's typical, low-rise high-density residential areas. The spaces intended for appropriation and improvisation sheltered the visitors of the opening of Madrid>Tokyo and facilitated interaction - even in the far from favourable weather conditions. The exhibition will stay open until 11 November, mirroring a parallel event in Madrid, which presents the projects of a group of fine, young Japanese architects, including Sano-san and Eureka.

co+laboradović  co+labo@another exhibition - "Space In Community Service", in Komiža, Vis  

"Anatomy of Islands - centre for research and development" (Boško Budisavljević and the Anatomy team) and the Local Action Group  "Platforma Lissa" (Manuela Antičević and the LAG team) are opening another fine exhibition, to be held 1-11 November 2016, this time in the beautiful fisherman town of Komiža, at the Adriatic island of Vis (left). The exhibition features a selection of ideas produced within "Anatomy of Islands" workshops, which were conducted in the period 2012-16. As regularly reported at this blog, co+laboradović was one of the major contributors to the "Anatomy", facilitating participation of a number of international, particularly Japanese academics, professionals and students - including Darko Radović, Davisi Boontharm, Kengo Kuma, Kazuyo Sejima, Hiroto Kobayashi, Akira Mita, Yasue Mitsukura, Tetsuo Kondo, Satoshi Sano, Ko Nakamura.
The exhibition in Komiža presents ideas seeking implementation (including the only project completed so far - Keio University Japanese Tea Pavilion) thus continuing the efforts of Anatomy, LAG and other local organisations, institutions and individuals to translate creative energies generated within and around "Anatomy" into action and, eventually, space. 
The exhibition will be accompanied by a book, featuring all of the exhibited ideas.

co+laboradović   welcome to new co+labo international members - Abigail and François        

Mid-school year co+labo was enriched by two new international students, Abigail Quinlan (exchange from McGill University, Canada) and François Ricciardi (ULC Lacambre-Horta, Bruxelles). François and Abi were officially welcomed at one of the Hiyoshi izakaya-s.

co+laboradović       co+labo@the hands-on design+construction workshop in Inujima              

Three co+labo students, Miyagaki Tomo, Onishi Keitaro and Kobayashi Daisuke took part in an intensive joint Keio+Politecnico di Milano+Ochanomizu Womens’s University workshop at the island of Inujima. The hands-on involvement in transformation of the former sewing factory into a gallery was conducted by Sejima Kazuyo and SANAA staff members, Suo, Takaike and Huruya. Sejima-san guided a visit to her other projects at the island. co+labo group continues the journey to visit other Setouchi Triennale sites.

co+laboradović  Exhibition of 10 emerging architects Madrid>Tokyo - supported by co+labo  

On Friday, 28th October, from 16.30, we will celebrate the Opening of the exhibition '10 emerging architects madrid>tokyo' at Around the Corner Grain building, designed by Eureka. The exhibition, which was initiated and co-organised by the team which includes co+labo's Paula Jaén Caparrós and Sano Satoshi will stay open until 7th November at 2-11-11 Motobuto, Urawa-ku, Saitama-ken.

This original, mirroring exhibition presents twenty emerging architects. Ten young architecture studios from Madrid will be exhibit their work in Tokyo while, simultaneously, ten young up-and-coming Japanese offices from Tokyo will be presenting their projects in Madrid.

The opening of the event in Tokyo will also be a farewell to our Paula Jaén who, after spending two productive years at co+labo, continues her research of disassemble architecture at the UC Berkeley. As an excellent researcher, inspirational sempai, teacher and contributor to co+labo culture, Paula will be - irreplaceable. 

The Friday event will feature a talk by Marcelo Pardo Ruiz, one of the architects exhibiting there. Marcelo has recently won AAP - American Architecture Prize 2016, the selection for the Bienal Internacional de Arquitectura de Argentina  2016, and the Luis Mansilla National Prize in Madrid.

co+laboradović proudly supports this event.